The present invention relates to a home-use embroidery sewing machine capable of sewing a large composite embroidery pattern on a work cloth.
There is known a sewing method, called a joining embroidering, in which an embroidery pattern that is larger in area than the embroidering frame for holding a work cloth is sewn on a work cloth by use of a home-use embroidery sewing machine, through several sewing operations.
In the joining embroidering, a sewing job or process of sewing the large embroidery pattern follows an editing process. In the editing process, an edit area (display area), which is four times (two times in length and width) as large as the embroidering frame, is set on the screen of a display device. Embroidery component patterns are stored in such a memory as internal memory of the machine or an external memory (e.g., a memory card). An embroidery component pattern or patterns read out of the memory are laid out on the edit area. The work of laying out the patterns is repeated plural number of times to editorially join or combine the layout patterns to compose a target embroidery pattern.
After the editing process is completed, the sewing job starts. Reference positions on the work cloth set to the embroidering frame are stored in advance in a memory. A first region (selected in advance) of the work cloth is set to the embroidering frame. Referring to the reference position data, the embroidery sewing machine sews a first embroidery pattern (or patterns) to the first region of the work cloth within the embroidering frame. Then, the work cloth having the stitches of the first embroidery pattern is detached from the embroidering frame, and a second region of the work cloth is set again to the embroidering frame. The embroidery sewing machine sews a second embroidery pattern (patterns), which is different from the first embroidery pattern already used, onto the second region of the work cloth. Subsequently, the above procedural steps are sequentially repeated to compose, combine or join those preselected embroidery patterns in an editorial manner, whereby a large composite embroidery pattern or a target embroidery pattern is formed.
Thus, the target embroidery pattern large in size is formed by editorially combining, joining or composing plural sets of the embroidery patterns. Each set may comprise one embroidery component pattern within the edit area (four times as large as the embroidering frame). The data representative of the target embroidery pattern is stored in a storing means of the computer system contained in the embroidery sewing machine. The embroidery sewing machine sews the target embroidery pattern onto the work cloth under control of a software implementation of target embroidery pattern sewing, driven by the computer system. An example of the prior art on this technique is U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/966,070, filed by the Applicant of the present Patent Application.
The embroidery sewing machine by the disclosed technique is capable of handling a target embroidery pattern having the size within the edit area that is four times as large as the embroidering frame, but the embroidery sewing machine needs the assist of eye measurement by the operator in sewing an embroidery pattern larger than the edit area, viz., composing embroidery component patterns into a target embroidery pattern.
Thus, the measurement by the human eyes is essential to the formation of a stitch pattern of the target embroidery by the conventional embroidery sewing machine.
An example of the target embroidery pattern having a plural number of embroidery component patterns is shown in FIG. 1. One rectangular or unit block of a lattice laid over the X-Y coordinates illustrated is equal in size to the embroidering frame. An edit area consists of four unit blocks; the size of the edit area is four times (two times in length and width) as large as the unit block.
In the example of FIG. 1, embroidery component patterns "B" and "C" are within one edit area defined by coordinate points (X0, Y0) and (X1, Y1), and hence can be handled for their sewing by the conventional embroidery sewing machine. Embroidery component patterns "A" and "D" are out of that edit area, and hence cannot be handled by the conventional embroidery sewing machine.
Thus, the conventional embroidery sewing machine cannot sew a target embroidery pattern neatly by joining or combining a plural number of composite embroidery patterns each consisting of preselected embroidery component patterns.